An Improvised Promise
by OMGitsToralee
Summary: Alice promised to go back to Underland someday; but what if she never fulfilled that promise? What if her daughter, Alicabel Johnson, fulfills that promise for her? Along the way, there is one question to be answered: Will Alicabel return?
1. Gathering

Alicabel "Alice" Johnson (alice-uh-bell "al-is" jon-sun)

**Age:** 17

**State-of-mind:** Sane

**Play-by:** AnnaSophia Robb (there is a link to the picture in my profile)

* * *

A small sigh came from Alicabel's lips as her mother tied the strings of her corset from behind, and she closed her eyes as she shook her head. Her light blond hair was held by her own steady hand, keeping it on her right shoulder and she was careful to keep it from drifting back behind her shoulder. Her mother tightened the corset once more and Alicabel hissed before going into a coughing fit. She felt bad for her poor lungs right now, which were being crushed by the corset and her ribs. "I'm so sorry, dear. I hated these things too when I was your age. But for right now, it's necessary, alright?" Her mother murmured quietly, being as gentle as possible now as to not choke her daughter once more.

Alicabel cleared her throat, wincing when the small intake of air necessary made her ribs hurt when the corset demanded no wider passage.

There was a small frown that appeared on the young girl's pale pink lips, and her eyes looked at the almost hidden face of her mother in the mirror.

Her shining pale blue eyes were studying her mother.

"Mother, why must I go to this gathering? There really isn't any need. I'll find a man for me soon enough. There's already plenty of boys in town who are _more_ than willing to become betrothed to me. Why can't I just keep to the boys close by instead of going to this gathering that is in Hatsfield?" She said, her voice quiet.

Her mother sighed, and stood erect as she pulled the last string on the corset. Tying it in place, Alicabel was relieved to feel barely anymore tightening.

"You need to find a worthy husband - or at least that's what John believes. The boys here aren't good enough to be a husband to you, Alice. You need a proper gentleman to be your husband. And, given, when you come of age to be a married woman next year, you'll find that it will all be worth it. By the way, all of this is your father's words, not my own, dear. But you need to find a boy to be engaged to soon, otherwise your father and I are going to have to find one for you that's _suitable_ - or rather just your father. There are plenty of young men who are waiting to meet you. And I'm sure you'll charm them all. Don't you want to get married?" Her mother said, and a huff came from Alicabel.

Though, thinking for a moment, she pondered the idea of being married. Of being loved...of the possibility of having children.

She really didn't want to be married...not yet.

Alicabel didn't have a good reason to want it yet.

"I'm sure some day I will, Mother. But as of now, it just seems a peculiar thought for me. I desire it minimally. I just don't want to worry about it."

With that Alicabel looked down at the wooden floor, at her feet which were in formal shoes that she hated.

Like her mother, Alice hated dressing up and being formal. Apparently, though, her mother wouldn't tolerate it right now. It saddened her to think of this, how even her _mother_ wouldn't side with her on this. '_For me to have a better future, as she would say. But this seems even more curious than it already had. Almost as if they have a boy already picked out for me..._' Her thoughts stopped cold along with her breathing.

"Alicabel?" Her mother said, worried, as she touched her daughter's shoulder gently.

Shaking her head, Alicabel put on a tight smile that was assuring. "I'm okay, mother. It's the corset...it's almost too bad that every human being has to breath in air to live." She said, forcing a small laugh that made her put her hands on her stomach at the immediate pain from the strain. "Wouldn't it be better if there was a machine that could do that for you, and then you could bask in the breathless state of living?" Her mother mused, and thoughtful smile on her lips and Alice rolled her eyes. "Mother, that wouldn't be possible in a millennium. It's a nice imaginative thought though." She said, and gave a small smile before sighing.

"We need to finish getting me ready for the gathering, Mother. Where is that dress that we got a few weeks ago?" Alicabel inquired, turning her head toward her mother as she changed the subject.

Hearing her mother's half mad ideas wasn't something that Alice cherished at the moment. She'd rather be suffocated in a dress rather than hear absurd ideas that didn't even have a chance of following through and succeeding without killing someone in the process.

Her mother was so..._odd_.

"I'm sure that it was in the wardrobe upstairs in your bedroom. I'll be right back dear. Why don't you start brushing through your hair to tame the frizzing so I can put it up? I'll only be a few moments, dear." Her mother said before leaving her daughter for the moment.

Alicabel shook her head, and sat down on the nearest thing which happened to be her bed.

A sigh came from her lips and she bowed her head before running her fingers through her hair tensely.

"What is in store for me?"

* * *

She stepped out of her transportation vehicle - she'd been numb the whole entire time - and she didn't glance back at the vehicle as her mother led her gently toward where Alicabel could hear the flow of voices drifting to her. Was it her imagination, or were most of them deep and masculine?

Alice couldn't be sure.

"Mother...exactly how many boys are going to be here?" She asked, her voice curious as she tried to see over the rise that was blocking her view of the strangers she heard.

Her mother had to think for a moment and then shrugged slightly. "I honestly have no idea, dovey. You're father is the one who set most of this up, and he said there were going to be a good amount of worthy boys for your hand in marriage here. I'd say somewhere around 25 that you'll meet that are eligible." The breaths that had been coming somewhat easily now for Alicabel choked off and she looked at her mother with a bewildered look. Her mother's beautiful face was sheepish, and a little bit of annoyance came to Alice at that moment.

"_Twenty-five boys_?_ And I'm to meet them **all**_?" She said, her voice rising in pitch before her mother shushed her.

Her mother shrugged lightly. "I've done so before. It really isn't as bad as you would fear, but oh well. I'm sure you'll find at least _one_ of them charming in some sort of way. Whether that be personality, looks or something else."

Alicabel watched her mother and then shook her head. "You and father are actually expecting me to like one of them by merely meeting them for the first time in my life? Love at first sight is something that doesn't exist my mind, Mother. None of them will really catch my eye, I'm sure." She said, brushing her blond hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ears as she walked slowly alongside her mother.

Alice knew her mother wasn't exactly one for this kind of thing, and she knew that her mother didn't approve, but really?

If her mother _truly_ didn't approve of this, she would have let her daughter ditch the stocking and not go through with the yanking, ripping, and pulling of the hair to get it into this simple yet elegant look.

What was going on?

Her thoughts drifted back to the possibility of her parents already having a boy picked out for her.

'_No, they respect me and love me enough not to go and arrange some boy for me to have to get married to or meet or some type of scenerio like that._' She thought, and that calmed her down so that she was more relaxed and graceful like she was supposed to be at the moment.

Her mother sighed, and she felt like running back to whatever the thing was that she had arrived in. Hell, even stealing a horse would be better for her than having to be here. Alicabel didn't very much enjoy this kind of thing, especially with growing suspicion of her parents in her. She just wanted to run...go somewhere far, far away where no one would be able to find her. Not even her own mother. Alice didn't like having to be like this...it was a horror in her mind. She wasn't taken to dressing up like any other girl her age would be. And she most certainly did _not_ wish to be set up with a boy for marriage that would be done in a year.

As she and her mother strolled toward the gathering - Alicabel could see the forms of others there and most were male, to her dismay - she suddenly thought of a good question to break the silence.

"Mother?" Alice inquired quietly, and from the corner of her eye she saw her mother glance at her.

"Where is father?"

Her mother gave a small smile, and shook her head. "He's on a business trip, dovey. You needn't worry about him. He'll be back by tomorrow. Though, as he told me before he left, he very much regrets having to leave on such short notice when you had this event to tend to. He wanted to see you like this; so beautiful and more like a young woman than any other girl he could've imagined." At those words, Alicabel felt a delicate blush stain her cheeks and she shook her head with a small smile on her lips. "I'm not beautiful, mother. I'm as dull as a stump; you are entitled to compliment me as a parent so I can't take such too seriously." She said, her voice almost a murmur as she sheepishly fiddled with the ends of her hair.

A small laugh arose from her mother's lips and then they were there.

The gathering.

A few people turned their way as they descended the very few stone steps that led down to a gardened patio. There were tables and chairs everywhere with a gazebo that held refreshments and smalls foods to nibble on under it's low roof.

With all of the eyes on her, Alicabel felt her cheeks heat up and turn a vibrant red.

Though, keeping her chin high, she detached herself from her mother and went to go sit down in a chair that was near a healthy shrub.

Soon, she was sitting in the seat, looking around thoughtfully to look at her surroundings.

"Hello, Miss." A deep voice came from her right, and she turned and faced the person who had greeted her.

It was a young man, somewhere around her age, and he was handsome. He had chestnut brown hair and the eyes that were looking at her were a rich golden brown. He was tanned, but still pale at the same time. His facial features were prominent with a softness to them that suggested that he was kind and thoughtful. At the current moment, he was smiling gently at her and she surprisingly didn't find it difficult to smile back at him.

Her smile was shy, and she nodded to him.

"My name is Christopher, Christopher James." He said, taking her hand lightly. She blushed, and bit her lower lip. "I'm Alicabel Johnson, though I'm often called Alice." She stated softly, looking at him with her smile growing a little.

His smile turned into a grin and he kissed the back of her hand lightly.

"May I ask - how are you, lovely Miss. Alice Johnson?" He said lightly, and she heard a small giggle escape her lips. "I'm quite well, Christopher. And how might you be?" She said, tucking some loose hair behind her right ear as she peered up at him through her eyelashes. He chuckled, and shook his head slightly. "I'm very good as of this moment." He said, and she raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She questioned playfully, and he nodded. "Well then, I'm happy to be in your company when you're doing so well at the current moment." She said, nodding to him.

They were quiet for a moment.

"Would you like to walk around on the grounds with me, Miss. Alice?" He said, a slight hopeful note in his tone and she rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. Shall we?"

* * *

**Okay, I'm really sorry if that its really boring but I swear that it will get so much better! :)  
**


	2. Down The Rabbit Hole

Things will get more interesting in this chapter; trust me. Just read. :)

* * *

Alicabel had been chattering away with Christopher for a while, and she was surprised to find that she actually was pretty fond of him. As a friend, of course. She never really cared for boys much, and she really didn't think that would change all that soon. But, as they had been walking, she had spotted...something. It was annoying her to no end when she had asked Christopher a few times if he had seen something. She wasn't sure what it was, but she didn't know if she wanted to see whatever the thing was. All she knew was that it was white and purple at the same time with a slight ticking noise.

Was she going mad?

She didn't dare ask Christopher this, and her answer was no. She was merely stressed about what was going on. That was all; she was _fine_.

Too bad she couldn't convince herself for long.

As they headed back to the gathering, arm in arm, Alice saw the thing again and her eyes narrowed before she forced herself to relax. Nothing, it was nothing. It was only the stress getting to her. She wasn't going to let some _hallucination_ drive her into hating the time she had with Ch-

_There!_

Alicabel stopped and when Christopher looked back at her, his eyebrows furrowed, she waved her hand at him dismissively. "It's nothing; I'm fine. Just...why don't you go back to the gathering without me? I need a moment." She said, giving a small, sheepish smile and he sighed as he shook his head. "Are you sure?" He said hesitantly, sliding his hand down to grasp her wrist lightly. An uncomfortable warm tingle spread through her and she quickly nodded. "I'll be fine, perfectly fine. But I just need a moment, Christopher. Really." She said, forcing a smile on her lips. He studied her for a moment before sighing and letting her go as she tugged a little on her wrist. "I'll see you in a little while, then." He said lightly, and then gave her one more look before trekking off toward where the gathering was.

When she was completely sure he was gone, she spun and looked around for the thing.

Her eyes saw it immediately.

It turned out to be a rabbit, a pure white rabbit with pinkish eyes...in a waistcoat? A purple waistcoat, to be exact, and as it looked at her, it took out a watch and held it up to her. The rabbit tapped it lightly before sprinting off in a direction. "Hey!" She snapped, and then took off after it.

She thought the only way to rid herself of the hallucination was, of course, to confront it. And of course, when she was going to, it was going to run away from her.

It didn't occur to her that she could end up lost as she followed it into the dense forest the gathering was located by.

Her hair, so carefully fixed, was now messy and flying behind her. Her dress was become dirty as dirt and mud on the ground came up to greet the fabric. She was running as fast as she could manage, and that wasn't very fast. Though, it seemed that the rabbit was glancing back at her and keeping at a speed that she could keep up with well enough as to not lose it. Her breaths were labored and she felt the corset crushing her ribs but she knew that she _had_ to go after the thing.

There wasn't any other choice.

She could feel her hair messing up, but she still didn't care. Her hair was the least of her worries; she could easily fix it to where no one would've noticed if it had been messed with. Right now, she sadly had to worry about her sanity.

_Does it run in the female line?_ She thought vaguely, but her eyes never left the rabbit that was darting in front of her. Underneath bushes, around trees - and all the while occasionally glancing back at her.

Alicabel swerved around a tree as the rabbit took a sharp right turn, and there was an old tree there. She saw the rabbit disappear and she slowed down, and walked over cautiously to where the rabbit had gone. There was a large rabbit hole - or rather just a large hole - by the base of the tree. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she swore she saw something move in the hole. "Hello?" She said softly, getting on her knees and peering in. Then, she mentally slapped herself. '_A rabbit can't talk to you and understand you, idiot._' She thought, and shook her head.

She leaned further over the hole, and used her arms to hold her up over it.

"Hello?" She called again, unable to help herself. She sighed, and started to pull herself back. "Idiot; you can't talk to anim -" She was cut off as she lost her grasp on the sides and fell into the whole.

She had let out a little screech as she fell; out of surprise. But, now, as she kept falling, she started feeling confused. Why wasn't she stopping? And why were the most benign things going by? Clocks, books, bookshelves, furniture, and odd instruments of all sorts. As she was spun around, she ended up getting turned to look at her descent and her eyes widened as she screamed.

There was nothing that she could see - nothing that would signal a stopping point for her.

'_I'm going to die,_' Alice realized with certainty, and surprisingly, she was fine with it.

_Why?_

Being fine with dying certainly couldn't be a good thing. Didn't she want to live a full life, marry, have children sometime along the way? Or would she rather have lived a boring life of doing what her parents asked of her?

It was hard for her to decide.

Her fear of falling and the surprise had worn off by now, and she was just falling as she thought of what had happened in her life.

It depressed her when she realized there wasn't much for her to remember; nothing worth it.

'_Oh well,_' she thought.

She seemed to be slowing down as she fell, which defied what she had learned of the world. If you were falling...weren't you supposed to go faster and faster as you fell? Confusion struck in her before she spun to face what she was falling too.

Her blue eyes widened as she saw stone coming up to meet her, and she flinched as it came so close to her.

She then broke through the stone, and hit a floor.

A startled - and breathless - cough made it's way from her throat. Even the small screams that she had released when falling had torn up her throat. Minimal, yes, but still - her throat was sore.

Her arms started to push her up before she screeched as she fell from the floor to...the floor? What the hell? Alicabel groaned in pain as she felt the soreness of her body. The corset was strangling her, and it was anything but comfortable to land on when you fall. Her blond curls had dirt in them, and the curls were almost completely knots. The dress - that had cost a good amount of money - was ripped at the bottom and showed a lot of her leg. She huffed, and then just yanked her shoes off and took off the stockings that she had been forced to wear for what had been the gathering.

It didn't matter now; she didn't even know if she was dead or somewhere peculiar.

Was she in some sort of exile?

Alicabel sure hoped not...she didn't want to be stuck somewhere forever. Sure, her mother became a nuisance with her insane imagination, but her mother was the one person who really cared for her and she loved her dearly.

She couldn't leave her mother.

At that moment, it was that thought that drove her to get up and look around, and she dusted off one of her feet before putting it in her shoe. As her blue eyes looked around, she dusted off her other foot that had yet to be put into one of her shoes. Absent-mindedly, she slipped her foot back into her other shoe, and then sighed. It was a marble room, and there were many door of different shapes and sizes. She wasn't able to tell, but she knew there was somewhere around two dozen of them in this room at the least.

'_This is going to be very difficult,_' she thought.

That was when she noticed the small table in the middle of the room, and her curiosity - inherited from her mother, she assumed - brought her to stand in front of it. There was a small bottle on the table, and a key. Without taking a second glance at the small bottle, Alicabel snatched the key up and rushed to the doors. Door after door, she jammed the key into the keyhole and turned it, then turned and yanked on the doorknob. It was useless for all of the doors that seemed candidate. Then, she came to a small door that only came up to where her knee was.

'_Oh God..._' She thought when she crouched down to be level with the door.

She had a feeling she knew what would happen.

Cautiously, she put the key into the keyhole, turned it, and then grasped the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and the door opened.

Alice was unladylike in every way as she hissed profanities under her breath, and hit her forehead. She ran her hand through her dirty, ratted blond hair. The world out there was large, colorful, full of creatures that were forbidden to ever exist in a world with logic that was actually...logical.

That was the only way to say it.

A creature that looked like rocking horse with _wings_ came flying at the door and she quickly shut it, out of fright. A dull _thump!_ sounded from the door, and her breaths hitched. Immediately, she curled up in a ball as she felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Like she seen this before - in a dream, of course. When she had been 7 and till the time of when she was 14, she had dreamed of a place that resembled the place beyond the door. A choked sound came from her, and she scooted toward the table in the middle of the room. Curling up in a ball once more, she felt tears of shock and fear run down her ashen, dusty cheeks.

Was she in that - that _nightmare_...again?

'_No..._' she thought shakily, and shook her head vigorously as she rose to her feet.

This wasn't her nightmare, her dream. This was just some idiotic imagination of hers running wild. Her mother must've given her some ideas and she was overthinking them.

"I'll just walk them through...that's right..." She muttered to herself before looking back at the small door.

There was no way that she would be able to get through it - not unless she could shrink.

Her eyes flickered from the door to the small bottle on the table, which had a small piece of paper tied to the top. The paper said 'Drink Me'.

Could it really be that simple?

Hesitantly, Alicabel went toward the table and took the little bottle in her grasp lightly. After a moment of quick consideration, she pulled out the cork and took a small sip to test it before drinking more. But, before she even had the chance to drink more of it - which was disgusting, she noticed - she saw the table coming closer, and she hurried to put the bottle on the table before she found she was about 3 feet tall.

Her dress was huge on her now, and she held it to her like a blanket as she started to get on her tip toes.

That was when she noticed that there was another dress on her.

It was a scarlet number, and it...it was one she had never seen before. Her eyes looked down at it as she dropped her other dress completely, and she found that she was wearing black shoes that seemed pretty sturdy.

She looked up at the table, and found that she could reach the top of it - and therefore, she felt a little bit of metal and she grabbed at it. When she took her hand back, she found that she held the key.

How had it even escaped her? She hadn't dropped it or anything.

Odd.

Alice sighed, and then turned in the direction of the door before spying something.

It was a dessert, and there was a paper that said 'Eat Me' next to it.

She wasn't taking any chances.

Regardless, though, she went ahead and picked it up. When she went to take a bit, she suddenly changed her mind and then just grabbed it and then went to her larger dress. With a cringe, she grabbed the material and put a foot down on it before yanking on it. The material that it was made out of wasn't too strong, and it ripped easily as she dragged the lengthening strip of cloth farther. Soon, it was angling toward the hem and finally, came off all together. Alice grinned, but then looked back at the dress that had taken a lot of money to buy.

Then she remembered that this wasn't real; and didn't feel guilty anymore.

Carefully, Alicabel set the dessert - it seemed to be a cake of some sort - down in the middle of the cloth, and then she hurried back over to the table. Getting on the tips of her toes, she reached and managed to twist the bottle a bit. It came towards the edge of the table, and she sighed in relief before reaching with both hands to get it.

Her hands grabbed the sides, and then she pulled and got it off the table.

Hastily, she made sure the cork was tight and then she set the bottle down next to the dessert that now had the 'Eat Me' paper on top of it, and then the young woman went to each individual corner, and pulled it to the middle. In the end, she had a bag tied that was the size of a satchel, and it was like one as well.

Alice swung the extent of the back - with a loop near the knot - over her shoulder and set forth toward the only door that had opened with the key. It was the perfect height for someone the size she newly was to go through.

Gingerly, she inserted the key into the lock, and turned.

The door unlocked with a _click_.

Slowly, _very_ slowly, Alicabel Johnson grabbed the knob of the door, turned it, and then pushed the door open.

* * *

_Sorry for taking so long! I didn't have any muse for this one x.x Hope it turned out okay!_


End file.
